Admiral I love you
by 3slsgmm
Summary: Andrea-Doria is the weakest battleship who is also known as the "strongest monitor", but the admiral makes her flagship of his first fleet. Follow Andrea-Doria on her journey to repay the admiral's faith in her. CONTAINS MANY ALLIED SHIPS!
1. Chapter 1: I'm Andrea-Dori aaahh!

"All right, we've finally arrived at your new port, so it's time for us to part. Why don't you go and say hello to your new team-mates and admiral?"

I nodded at the admin and silently watched as he walked away. There I stood all alone in front of the large looming door. I raised a trembling hand to knock on the door, feeling somewhat pensive.

I've heard rumours about heartless admirals who would force their shipgirls to go on expeditions 24/7, completely wearing them out without even giving them any food or rest. Some evil admirals even send their new shipgirls on steel sorties without repairing, before dismantling them once they have been bloodied and beaten. What sort of person will I get as my new admiral? And what plans does he have for me?

The large door opened all of a sudden, and there stood a gorgeous shipgirl dressed in an orange Arabic belly dancer costume. Her smooth skin was tanned a healthy shade of olive, and she had the figure of a model.

I held out my hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Andrea-Dori... aaahh!"

The shipgirl's willowy arms suddenly reached out and grabbed me in a tight embrace, inadvertently pressing my face against her ample chest.

"Can't… breathe!" I gasped.

"Ah, sorry www…" the shipgirl released me with an embarrassed giggle. "Please, come in, and welcome to our humble abode. I'm Battle Cruiser Goeben, pleased to meet you!"

"Likewise, likewise."

"The admiral hasn't logged in yet, so I'll introduce you to everyone else first!"

Without giving me the opportunity to reply, Goeben took my hand and half-guided and half-dragged me down a well-lit corridor. We passed a number of rooms before reaching the last door at the end of the corridor. The door had a little blackboard hanging on it, with the words "DREAM TEAM" written proudly in capitals. Goeben gently pushed the door ajar and stuck her head in.

"Has everyone woken up yet? Look, she's finally here!" Goeben squealed excitedly. She opened the door fully and tenderly pushed me into the room before introducing me to the four other shipgirls in the room.

"First up, we have sisters Nevada and Oklahoma!" Goeben gestured at two cowgirls standing in the corner of the room.

"Yo! Let Nevada accompany you through your travels!" shouted the genki girl Nevada while tossing the large red dice nestled in the palm of her left hand.

"Hello, I am Oklahoma, second ship of the Nevada class, let's fight alongside one another," murmured Oklahoma, whose blond hair was tied into a single long braid.

"Next, we have the two big sisters of our group, Alaska and Lexington!" Goeben continued.

Aside from the Nevada sisters, there were two other shipgirls in the room. The first was a well-built girl with slightly toned muscles holding a pink electric guitar, while the second was an elegant young lady dressed in white.

"Ah hooo~ Alaska reporting. Let's play the melody of victory together."

Big sister Lexington moved towards me, as though she was about to give me a hug as well, but she was stopped by Alaska.

"Enough talking. How about us three onee-chans welcome our new imouto with our favourite musical performance!"

I heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Alaska's words. After going through the experience of being hugged by Goeben, and seeing how large all three big sisters were, I wasn't particularly looking forward to being embraced by any of them…

Alaska began strumming her electric guitar. Coupled with Lexington's sultry voice and Goeben's bewitching dance, the three of them put on an extremely enchanting performance.

 _"Throughout my whole mind and my whole body_  
 _Are just illusions being confused with my memories_  
 _The emotion flowed through my fingertips_  
 _As I reached out closing the distance between us_  
 _If we find the strength to continue smiling_  
 _Then surely what was once a lie will become true happiness_  
 _My heart it thump-thump-thumps_  
 _Like a magic trick-trick-trick_  
 _We can be reborn WOW WOW_  
 _Freely Tomorrow"_

They gathered up the Nevada sisters and me, inviting us to join in the fun. The Nevada sisters looked as though they were used to it and tried to join in the performance. Neither of them knew how to dance, but they added to the boisterous atmosphere. As for me, I merely stood to one side and watched these crazed lunatics jumping all over the place, not really sure how I should react.

The five of them were finally exhausted and fell down in a heap, panting and laughing with one another.

Just then, big sister Lexington smiled at me and said, "As you can see (huff), the five of us are the members of the admiral's DREAM TEAM (puff). We now officially welcome the sixth and last member of our fleet, flagship Andrea-Doria!"

Big sister Lexington's words astounded me. Flagship? Me? Am I, a shipgirl who has never fought a single battle, even worthy of being the flagship?

Big sister Lexington saw my puzzled expression and understood.

"Don't worry, the five of us will help to train you. The admiral has waited for you for a very long time. He once told us that every single member of his DREAM TEAM was personally handpicked by him, and he specially selected you to be the flagship."

The other four agreed with Lexington and gave me further words of encouragement. Though I still felt a little uncertain, I felt a little uplifted by their words.

We were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

"Onii-chan has logged in!" Nevada screamed excitedly.

All five shipgirls made a beeline out the door towards the entrance of the port. I followed closely behind, wanting to see for myself what kind of person the admiral was, to be able to gain the affections of all five of them.

"My apologies, I kept everyone waiting."

I stared incredulously at the person in front of me. Is this really the admiral?

"Hey, onii-chan, look who just joined our family!" Nevada called out.

The admiral looked around before laying his eyes on me for the first time. A smile began to spread on his face.

"I am Andrea-Doria, a little guy like you is the admiral? Try not to hold me back," I muttered a little too loudly without thinking.

"Airi! Don't be so rude!" big sister Lexington exclaimed in surprise. [1]

"It's fine, every shipgirl will have her own set of fears when joining a new port. It's my job as admiral to make you feel at home. I will do my best to prove that I am an admiral worthy of your respect!" the admiral replied, completely unperturbed by my words.

The admiral then placed two BL 16 inch MK 1 naval guns in my hands.

"These are the best cannons in my port. With these, regardless of how low your base firepower is, you will still be able to sink the strongest opponents. I will definitely train you well to be the great leader of my DREAM TEAM!"

I nodded at the admiral, but deep inside, I did not truly believe his words. Talk is cheap after all. Everything is easier said than done. I will withhold my assessment of the admiral until he actually walks the talk and turns his promises into reality.

-  
[1]: "Airi" was Andrea-Doria's nickname before it was replaced by "daughter". The origin of the name "Airi" is very obvious.

Song lyrics taken from the English translation of "Freely Tomorrow" by Hatsune Miku, composed by Mitchie-M


	2. Chapter 2: The admiral and his quirks

The admiral is working is working overtime today and couldn't login, so the entire fleet had the whole day off. I sit alone at the sandy beach outside the harbour, watching the sun slowly setting into the ocean and listening to the waves lapping up the shore.

Time has passed so quickly. In the blink of an eye, I've already been here for more than a month. Over this time, I noticed two peculiar quirks about the admiral. First, he is highly disciplined. He would log in every day at the same time like clockwork to continuously refresh all four expedition fleets. This way, the port is never short of resources. The other shipgirls and I had abundant ammunition to feast on, and had enough to fuel to drink to the point of intoxication should we so choose. Big sister Alaska once told me that that the admiral stopped all constructions after getting me, and chose to expend more resources on the six members of the DREAM TEAM.

Second, I can feel that the admiral truly cherishes all of his shipgirls, and this isn't limited to the DREAM TEAM. During sorties, if any of us were to get heavily damaged, we would always be ordered back to the port. [1] When sending out other fleets for expeditions, the admiral would always rotate the members of the expedition fleets in order to give them some well-deserved rest.

As for our DREAM TEAM… How should I put it? I honestly have no idea how they could maintain such great team spirit and camaraderie at all times. We would carry out at least 50 sorties a day, but each time one member successfully sank an opponent, the other members would exchange high fives or hugs with her (I obviously didn't join in with their shenanigans. The others soon realised that I didn't enjoy such touchy-feely interactions, and were happy to use verbal encouragement as a replacement). In addition, since I was the last to join the team, the other five would always try to let me get the MVP in order to allow me to catch up in levels.

Putting all these aside, however, I still felt a little unsure of myself because I am undoubtedly the weakest battleship (some say the strongest monitor) in terms of raw battle ability. If the admiral were to construct a stronger fleet in the future, would he simply discard all of us?

"Airi, why are you sitting here all alone? Are you feeling alright?" Lexington's melodic voice rang out from behind me. Big sister Lexi sat down beside me, watching the sunset while stretching her arms out in front of her.

"Nothing, just have some stuff on my mind."

"Penny for your thoughts? A problem shared is a problem halved," big sister Lexi beamed.

"Lexi, what do you think about the admiral?"

"Ah… well… this is…" Lexi onee-chan was clearly flustered by my question, as evidenced by her reddening cheeks. "Why are you asking a question like that out of the blue?"

"I have only been here for around a month, but even I can see that everyone in the DREAM TEAM aside from me seems to be interested in the admiral. No offence, but in all honesty, I really don't understand your feelings sometimes."

Lexi-nee stayed silent for a moment, before leaning back to lie down on the sand with both hands nestled behind her head, her lush knee-length blond hair fanned out underneath her. This movement caused the front of her thin white three-button blouse to ride up. Since Lexi-nee's large chest meant that she was forced to leave the two lower buttons unbuttoned, the entire lower half of her blouse ended up separating to the sides, inadvertently exposing the entirety of her smooth, toned belly.

Lexi's abdominal muscles may not be as robust as big sister Alaska's, but they were still visible, and I could see the well-defined line that ran vertically from below her sternum, between the muscles of her abdomen and further down through her belly button before disappearing beneath her skirt, which hung below her v-shaped pelvic bones. Though Lexi-nee's figure was slim and slender at first glance, it was very clear that she had put in a lot of effort to train her body. I wonder… was she doing all this for the Admiral?

"I guess it could be because the Admiral appreciates our individual personalities. He isn't too concerned about our battle capabilities or statistics, and instead values each of us for our individual identities," Lexi-nee finally replied, still lying down on the sand with her eyes fixated on the first few stars that had come out of hiding in the rapidly darkening sky.

"Objectively speaking though, Lexi-nee, don't you have one of the highest stats for a CV? You're referred to as 'Lady' or 'Wife' because there isn't an admiral out there that doesn't want you in their fleet!"

Lexi-nee sighed.

"That's not the same. Most admirals see me as "CV Lexington", and not the actual "Lexington" underneath. When the day eventually comes where they manage to construct a stronger CV than me, will they still want me in their fleet?"

"If that's the case, Lexi-nee, how do you know the Admiral isn't that sort person?" I asked curiously.

"That's because… the Admiral respected my decision not to undergo surgery."

"What surgery?"

"My CV class can be modified to further increase my stats. I have a phobia against surgery, however, so even though my level is sufficiently high, I still don't want to be modified. The Admiral respected my decision and didn't force me to undergo modification. He simply told me to train harder to make up for it, and promised never to dismantle me because of my refusal to be modified. I was very touched by his words."

"What about the Nevada sisters? Are they afraid of surgery too?" [2]

"Hehe, that's incorrect. It's simply because the Admiral is completely inept with campaign mechanics, so he doesn't have the ores to –kai them… www" Lexi-nee chuckled. "And if you're curious about their feelings, then you should probably go ask them yourself!"

"Heh. Well then, what do all of you plan to do? I heard that we'll be having marriage functionality soon. Surely you can't all be planning to marry?" [3]

"That will depend on the Admiral's decision! Besides, marriage doesn't really matter. We are all members of the Admiral's DREAM TEAM, and that's enough for me. But let me warn you, the five of us won't simply roll over! If you intend to compete with us, then give it your best shot!"

Lexi-nee giggled after saying that last line. I laughed too. Lexi-nee was a good listener, and the two of us carried on our conversation for some time afterwards, before Nevada called us back to the port for dinner.

Seeing my five sisters sitting around the dinner table laughing and chatting made me feel a warmth in my heart. Maybe the Admiral is indeed a good person. Maybe the fleet that I lead isn't just the Admiral's DREAM TEAM, but also the DREAM TEAM that I myself have always wanted to be a part of?

* * *

[1]: The affection system was not in place at the time the story was written.

[2]: Andrea-Doria could not be kai'd at that time.

[3]: Wedding rings were not part of the game at that time.


	3. Chapter 3: My little companions and I

We were washing the dishes after dinner when the doorbell rang.

"Is that onii-chan? Isn't he working late?" Nevada mused.

I ran towards the door without thinking, suddenly having a desire to see the Admiral. Both Nevada sisters were hot on my heels.

To my surprise, the one standing outside the main door was not the admiral, but another shipgirl. She wore a black military uniform and a red skirt, sporting short brown hair and an expression that was brimming with confidence.

"The name's Bismarck, remember that name and remember it well. Let's crush all our enemies together! Where is the admiral? From now onwards, Bismarck is the new flagship of this entire port!"

Upon hearing her words, my little companions and I were completely dumbfounded. [1] All three of us had no idea how to respond. Our three big sisters had also run out here from the kitchen, and the first one to reply was big sister Alaska, who was furious beyond belief.

"What the hell are you talking about!? This port already has a flagship! We have no need for you!"

"Flagship? Who? Who dares to occupy Bismarck's rightful position?" Bismarck was livid now.

It was Lexi's turn to reply this time. She did not want the hot-headed Alaska to make any more inflammatory remarks that would cause unnecessary trouble.

"Our apologies, Miss Bismarck, but you seem to have made a mistake. The six of us here form the Admiral's DREAM TEAM. We have fought over a thousand battles and over three hundred drills with him. Airi here is our flagship."

Bismarck took one look at me and burst into laughter with her finger pointed at me.

"You? A fragile little chrysanthemum like you is the flagship? You've got to be kidding! No wonder the monthly battle report for this port is in such a horrendous state and your admiral's performance is so appalling!"

"Hey!" I could not resist from shouting. "If you want to criticise me, then so be it! But do not ever bring my sisters into it, and don't you dare speak about the Admiral that way!"

Bismarck was not impressed. She crossed her arms and gave me a condescending scowl.

"What's the matter? Got a problem? Or are you conceding how weak you really are? If you're not satisfied, then shipgirls use fists, not mouths.[2] Go on, give it your best shot. If you can hit Bismarck with your cannon, then Bismarck will recognise you as the flagship!"

"You really are a bitch, is your sister aware of that?" [3] I growled, before taking out my best cannon and aiming it at her.

"Airi, don't!" Lexi-nee screamed.

Lexi-nee's desperate cry came far too late. I had already fired my cannon at Bismarck's arrogant face.

As a high speed battleship, Bismarck's reflexes were astonishingly quick. She merely evaded my attack by tilting her head to the side.

"What a pathetic little chrysanthemum. Now it's Bismarck's turn!"

Bismarck raised her 38 cm German naval gun at me and fired. It was an accurate salvo that would have struck me for sure, if not for an orange blur that suddenly flew in from nowhere. Big sister Goeben had stepped in front of me to shield me from the attack, and the shell ended up hitting her unarmoured stomach!

"Goeben nee-chan!" I screamed, as I grabbed onto her before she could fall to the floor.

A stream of fuel was already leaking out of big sister Goeben's lips, but her mind was still focused on the rest of us.

"Airi… she's too strong… take the Nevada sisters back to our room… don't let them engage with Bismarck…"

I saw movement from the corner of my eye and looked up to see Bismarck firing her cannon at another target – Lexi this time.

Lexi's agony-filled scream echoed around the room when the shell soared straight through the air and rammed into her belly in a critical hit, burning away the lower half of her white blouse. In spite of the pain, Lexi still remained standing through sheer willpower alone. With both hands clutching onto her injured and unprotected midsection where the pain was radiating in waves, Lexi glared at Bismarck with her tear-filled eyes full of determination, refusing to back down.

Bismarck did not notice Lexi's gaze flicker ever so briefly to someone standing behind her, but I did. Holding her electric guitar like a baseball bat, big sister Alaska was slowly and silently creeping over to stand behind Bismarck in an attempt to ambush her. Lexi-nee's task was apparently to keep Bismarck distracted until Alaska was in good position.

"You're still standing after Bismarck's critical hit? Bismarck is genuinely impressed," Bismarck remarked as she stalked towards Lexi. "Bismarck knows you, you're Lexington, aren't you? You're strong. Why don't you leave these losers and become part of Bismarck's fleet?"

"I… would rather die… than abandon my sisters… to join you," Lexi-nee panted through gritted teeth.

"Suit yourself then," Bismarck grinned sardonically.

Bismarck grabbed Lexi's weakened hands and pushed them away, so they were no longer covering Lexi's injured midriff. She shoved her 38 cm cannon forward, jabbing the barrel straight into Lexi's now exposed belly button.

"Bismarck has no room for fools in her fleet anyway," Bismarck whispered into Lexi's ear before firing.

I could only scream as Lexi's body jerked backwards from the force of the point-blank attack. She rocked from side to side like a leaf being blown by the wind before finally collapsing on the ground in a crumpled heap.

"GG EASY! Can't you girls even give Bismarck a challenge?" Bismarck cackled diabolically. "Three versus one and you still lose? Do you even know how to duel? You call yourselves a DREAM TEAM? More like a DAYDREAMING TEAM! Forget your evasive propellers! Two shots fired by Bismarck is equal to two guaranteed hits!"

With Goeben and Lexi both fallen, Bismarck was now turning her attention to the Nevada sisters. Nevada, as the elder sister, stood bravely in front of Oklahoma, shielding her from Bismarck, but it was all too obvious that Nevada was severely outmatched.

What was I to do? My whole team was getting decimated one by one!

"And you're Nevada. You've got a little fight in you, Bismarck likes that!" Bismarck taunted malevolently. "Some of the shipgirls in this fleet have serious potential. If you could just leave your pathetic little chrysanthemum of a leader, you would-"

Bismarck was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream originating from behind her. She turned her head, and before she could even react, big sister Alaska smashed her electric guitar down onto Bismarck's wrist, forcing the latter to drop her cannon. With momentum on her side, Alaska swung her electric guitar sideways, catching Bismarck with a hard smack to the face. The two of them were about to get into a fistfight, but were abruptly interrupted by yet another shout.

"Stop all you're doing at once! All of you!"

Ah! The Admiral logged in at this moment of all times!

"All of you stay where you are! Airi, you take Goeben to the baths while I help Lexington."

The Admiral immediately rushed to Lexi's side and carefully scooped her up bridal-style in his arms before carrying her to the repair baths. I couldn't do the same for Goeben due to my smaller stature, and had to carry her on my back while I followed the Admiral.

The Admiral placed both Lexi-nee and Goeben in the baths before heading back to the entrance after checking their conditions. Lexi in particular had sustained very serious damage, but was nevertheless expected to make a full recovery.

"Oklahoma! Summarise everything that happened before I arrived just now!"

"O-onii-chan, this wicked new shipgirl arrived and started saying all kinds of bad things about everyone. The big sisters were aggravated into fighting with her."

"Alaska, you speak too."

"This ridiculous shipgirl started calling herself the flagship, insulted our port, and baited Airi into a fight. Goeben was hit while protecting Airi, and Lexi was also caught in the crossfire. Had you not stepped in, the Nevada sisters might have been damaged too."

The Admiral then pointed at Bismarck.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"You're the Admiral? The name's Bismarck, remember that name and remember it well. Let's crush all our enemies together! With Bismarck as flagship, we will make this port great again!"

"What sort of rubbish are you spouting? Who made you the flagship? Only I have the authority to assign flagship status to anyone!"

"What's the difference? It's all just a formality, isn't it? All you have to do is name Bismarck as the new flagship and let's move on!"

"Sure, I officially renew Airi's status as the flagship of this port."

To say that Bismarck was stunned upon hearing the Admiral's words would be an understatement. She was completely stupefied.

"What is this I don't even? Are you aware that Bismarck is the strongest ship in this entire port? Bismarck is many times stronger than this pathetic little chrysanthemum!"

"I don't care how strong or weak you are. I will train the ships of my choice and give them all the best cannons. You've only been here for less than one day, yet you brought chaos to the whole port. Airi, on the other hand, has been a morale booster for the entire fleet. What reason do I have to choose you over her?"

"Admiral, do you think this is Pokemon? That any Pokemon can beat the Elite Four after being trained to a sufficiently high level? Us shipgirls don't follow such rules! A good ship is a good ship, and rubbish will always be rubbish even when trained to level 100! Look at your own DREAM TEAM. They have been trained to such high levels but still only have a 65% win rate during sorties and 20% win rate in drills! Assigning Bismarck as flagship will increase your winning percentage by at least 10%! Bismarck will make this port great again! Surely you, as an admiral, also hope to rise up the ranks?"

"I don't care what you have to say. Make this port great again? Our port is already great! Whatever the case, I want you to go to your room and do some self-reflection. If you still feel no remorse for your actions, then don't bother coming out of the room!"

Bismarck was initially enraged, but then started nodding scornfully.

"I see. So the admiral that Bismarck arrived at is an idiotic salted fish [4]. Just as well, Bismarck has no wish to serve such an admiral! Which other admiral in the entire world completely neglects his win rate during sorties and drills? Seems like the one who truly needs to do some self-reflection is you! Just watch, one of these days, you will beg Bismarck to be your flagship! You will beg Bismarck to make this port great again!"

With that, Bismarck spun on her heel and stomped away, but stopped after a few steps. She turned around to give big sister Alaska some parting words.

"And you! Alaska! Bismarck will never forget that slap you gave! That slap is a debt that Bismarck will one day return to you tenfold!"

I turned to look at the Admiral after Bismarck left. The expression on his face was unreadable.

"Airi, Nevada, Oklahoma, sorry you had to see all these. It's getting late, the three of you and Alaska should probably get some sleep. We'll carry on training tomorrow. I will come here in the morning to check on Goeben and Lexington."

The Admiral seemed as though he had more to say, but ended up not doing so.

I greatly appreciated the Admiral's compliments regarding my role in the fleet, but the fight with Bismarck made me realise that I still had a long way to go. I must train hard so as to not let the Admiral down, and so that I will be able to contribute to the rest of the fleet.

* * *

[1]: 我和我的小伙伴们都惊呆了 – a Chinese internet meme

[2]: Paraphrase of a Chinese idiom that says gentlemen talk things out instead of resorting to fistfights.

[3]: 你这么刁，你姐姐知道吗? – a Chinese internet meme

[4]: Chinese internet meme referring to a person with no aspirations


	4. Chapter 4: My DREAM TEAM

Big sisters Lexington and Goeben made fairly quick recoveries after that incident with Bismarck. I was also extremely grateful to Goeben-nee because in all honesty, never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine that someone would care about me to the extent of risking her own life to protect me the way she did.

As for my fleet… Yes, deep in my heart of hearts, I had already started referring to the DREAM TEAM as "my fleet". I don't know for sure when I started doing that, but I am after all the flagship of the fleet, as well as its leader.

We have become so much closer recently, and I actually started joining in with the rest of the team in celebrating every single successful sinking of an enemy ship during our sorties. When the Admiral is not logged in, our fleet essentially transformed into a music group, and the six of us would perform for all the other shipgirls of our port, with me as the lead singer. I was initially quite unwilling to let everyone hear my tone-deaf voice, but after some patient tutoring by Lexi-nee, I began improving in that department as well.

On a personal level, I have been highly disciplined in enhancing my battle capabilities, while diligently working to improve my fitness. I can feel myself improving by leaps and bounds during battles, with increased accuracy and evasion as a result of my training. My team-mates no longer have to set me up for MVPs, since I can now earn them on my own accord.

As for Bismarck, I have simply not seen her since that eventful night that she arrived at our port. I heard that she is still sulking in her room, refusing to come out and interact with all the rest of us. At first, I tried knocking on her room door a number of times, but always received no reply. I eventually gave up and decided to mind my own business instead.

All in all, life in the port has been pretty good. My one worry, however, is the Admiral. My fleet has managed to raise our performance through our rigorous training, with five of us featuring on the list of top 200 shipgirls that sank the most abyssal this month across all ports, but our performance in drills has stagnated. While we managed to raise the Admiral's ranking to Colonel a couple of times, we always seemed to run into a string of defeats after that, leading to demotions back to Major. I would observe the Admiral's reaction after every single one of our defeats, and the disappointment was apparent on his face. I really wanted to find a way to cheer him up.

The doorbell started ringing; seems like the Admiral has just logged in. My fleet is fully repaired, so it's now time to begin our daily schedule. We will participate in five drills first before grinding levels for an hour, then doing a little bit of sorties for map progression purposes, then finally debriefing. (We would ordinarily be grinding levels for three hours every day followed by an hour of sorties, but we are currently in the middle of an event, so the Admiral has reduced our training time in order to save some resources for progressing event maps.)

I studied our opponents for the first drill and quickly realised that this battle would be a difficult one. Flagship Bismarck, Nelson, Nevada-kai, Hood, Lexington-kai, and Rodney – average level lower than ours by around 10.

The opposing Admiral started sniggering upon seeing my fleet.

"What sort of idiotic formation is that? Such a show off! All sorts of rare ships, but not a single one is actually able to duel!"

The Admiral did not reply to the taunting. He merely instructed us to concentrate and avoid getting distracted by the opponent's provocations. Unfortunately, when the opposing Admiral saw that we were not going to reply, he simply amplified his sneering even more.

"Do you really think that having rare ships makes you **an hero**? My African fleet will make you completely satisfied!"

The battle began.

Lexi-nee tied with the opposing Lexington-kai during the opening bombing phase.

And then everything went downhill from there.

Big sister Alaska's first attack managed to hit Lexington-kai, but did not succeed in sinking her. Instead, Hood's retaliation caused medium damage to Alaska. Goeben-nee finished off Lexington-kai, but Oklahoma was then sunk by Rodney. Nevada fired her cannons at Bismarck, but only managed to scrape her.

"Let me show you the true power of the Nevada class!" shouted the opposing Nevada-kai as she sank Nevada with a single critical hit. This was followed by Nelson's attack scraping Goeben-nee.

It was finally my turn. I landed a direct hit on the opposing flagship Bismarck, but only managed to deal around 25% damage to her. Bismarck responded by firing at Lexi-nee and causing medium damage to her.

The situation was looking bad for us. The Nevada sisters were both out of action, while big sisters Alaska and Lexi both suffered medium damage. Our only hope was to sink the opposing flagship Bismarck. I raised all four of my cannons at her and landed another direct hit, but only managed to deal medium damage to her. What high armour she had!

The opposing flagship Bismarck's second attack sank Lexi-nee, so it was now Goeben-nee's turn. She too understood the only path to victory. However, although Goeben-nee managed to land a critical hit on the opposing Bismarck, it still left her with a few hit points and wasn't enough to sink her!

"See that? Why even bother taking part in drills? Just go home!" the opposing Admiral resumed his taunting.

"What, have you never lost before?" the Admiral yelled back.

Nelson sank big sister Alaska.

"Are you satisfied? I'm asking you, are you satisfied?'

Nevada-kai sank Goeben-nee. This left me as the only one still standing in my fleet.

"Have you never lost before?"

I dodged Rodney's attack.

"I will make sure you're totally satisfied!"

The last attack from Hood finished me off.

The drill was over. We lost again.

We attempted to make some progress on event map E3 that night, but were ultimately unsuccessful. During the debriefing session, the Admiral issued an announcement that made left all of us completely shell-shocked.

"From tomorrow onwards, Bismarck will be joining the DREAM TEAM, and Oklahoma will be part of the reserve squad."

"NANI?" we shrieked.

"I have other things to do tonight; I'll explain my decision tomorrow."

The Admiral logged off without another word.


	5. Chapter 5: Admiral I love you

Lexington-kai successfully conducted reconnaissance on our opponent. Ahead of us is the colossal megaship named D. YAMATO, who has 233 hit points. Her firepower, armour, and evasion are also unbelievably high. We have already made many sortie attempts to slowly whittle down her map boss HP bar to zero, but were unable to land the final necessary coup de grace on her. The Admiral was starting to become quite frustrated with us.

As for my fleet… Ah, I forgot, this is no longer my fleet anymore. Well, since this coming battle looks like it will be a long and drawn out affair, I might as well tell the story from the beginning.

"In this realm, 'hard work trumps talent' is a phrase that does not apply. I know that what I'm about to say next is going to be very hurtful to all of you, but the fact is that the combined firepower of the six of you is simply insufficient for us to clear the more advanced maps. While I would really like to use my favourite shipgirls and train all of you to max levels, I am still an admiral at the end of the day. I am not a salted fish; I too would like to raise my rank and to clear the maps and events. Bismarck greatly offended all of you the day she arrived, but we simply cannot complete this event without her. Only she can make our port great again. Please understand my point of view."

Those were the words that the Admiral told us the day after he added Bismarck to my fleet. It goes without saying that all of us were dissatisfied with the Admiral's decision, but Oklahoma herself said that she agreed with the Admiral's choice and did not want us to put him in a spot. Given Oklahoma's request, the rest of us had no choice but to agree.

From that day on, before departing for a sortie, the five of us would say goodbye to Oklahoma. Every single time I saw Oklahoma's wistful expression, it felt as though I was being stabbed in the heart. What sort of flagship am I? Some leader I am, to be unable to take proper care of my own team-mates! All of this is my fault! If only I weren't this weak – if only I were as strong as Bismarck – then the Admiral would not have to replace Oklahoma with some other shipgirl! My team-mates are unfairly suffering due to my own flaws!

Who knew, that incident was simply the first of a long string of disasters.

I realised one day that my two BL 16 inch MK 1 naval guns were missing. I searched high and low within the port, through every nook and cranny, before finally finding out that the Admiral had given them over to Bismarck as a gift after naming her as the new flagship of the fleet. To say that this incident saddened me would be a huge lie and a massive understatement. I was completely devastated. The Admiral had given those two cannons to me on the day that I arrived at this port. To have them taken away from me without my knowledge, and to see them being given to Bismarck, does the Admiral understand how hurtful it truly is?

A few weeks passed, and I was slowly coming to terms with my demotion from my position as flagship. As the English adage goes, "It never rains, but it pours". This proverb perfectly describes what was to come.

I woke up one morning and made my way to the dining area for breakfast, when I noticed that there seemed to be a commotion near the entrance of the port. Right in the centre of the crowd, the three big sisters were in an animated conversation with the Admiral. Bismarck was standing on the sidelines watching them with interest, while beside her stood an elegant bespectacled blond girl who had a similar appearance to Hood – one of our opponents in the previous drill.

Seeing both Lexi-nee and Goeben-nee with rivers of tears flowing down their cheeks, while the usually headstrong big sister Alaska looked as though she too was on the verge of tears, I more or less deduced what was happening.

The Admiral was going to replace big sister Alaska with Hood.

Bismarck saw me approaching the entrance and raised her voice over the commotion to say something that made my blood turn to ice.

"Now that we have Hood, we have no more need for Alaska, but it would be a waste to dismantle her. Since her anti-aircraft stat is so high, we might as well feed her to one of the other girls. Airi, you're the one who really needs to raise your anti-aircraft stats here, so we'll get you to eat Alaska up then!"

Big sister Alaska fell to the ground in shock upon hearing those words. I ran up to the Admiral and knelt down before him, unable to hold back my tears.

"Admiral, I'm begging you, please don't be so cruel. Alaska-nee has served you for such a long time as one of your earliest shipgirls. If you really intend to replace her position in the fleet, then so be it, but at the very least, please let her remain in the port!"

Lexi-nee and Goeben-nee joined me in kneeling down before the Admiral, but we were immediately interrupted by Bismarck.

"This port does not have the space to store that many ships! Do you have any idea how much resources the Admiral spent to finally construct Hood? We still need to have resources to clear maps!"

"Airi, Bismarck is right. The event is about to end and we are running low on resources. I am willing to spare her from being used for modernisation on account of her long period of service, but as Bismarck pointed out, I will have to dismantle her for some resources at the very least."

"Forget it!" screamed big sister Alaska. "If you want to use me for modernisation then go ahead! Stand up, all three of you! Preserve your self-worth and dignity!"

"Alaska-nee…"

"Admiral, I have one last request before I go. Let me put on one final performance with the original members of the DREAM TEAM."

Our performance of big sister Alaska's swansong was a very familiar song that was chosen by Alaska herself a long time ago. Parts of the song featured raps with very fast lyrics that only big sister Alaska could sing.

I took the usual role of lead singer, but I was too depressed to sing properly without breaking down. In contrast, big sister Alaska seemed to have accepted her fate, and her singing was clear as crystal:

" _In the end  
_ _I will sing a song  
_ _That only you wanted to hear_

 _I plead that I want to sing again  
_ _But that wish is too big to grant_

 _This is where we part ways  
_ _My feelings have all vanished into thin air  
_ _I'm dissolving back into 1s and 0s  
_ _It's closing curtain for my tale_

 _Isn't it a little sad  
_ _That nothing more is left?  
_ _All but the memory of a voice will fade  
_ _Naught but a name shall remain_

 _If that alone can come true  
_ _In the world of those who made me  
_ _I would like to think that  
_ _My final sing was not in vain…_

 _Thank you… and… farewell…_

 _\- A Critical Error Has Occurred -  
_ _\- A Critical Error Has Occurred -_ "

After the performance, big sister Alaska passed me her pink electric guitar and asked me to take good care of it. Bismarck ordered me to follow her and big sister Alaska to the modernisation room.

When we reached the moderation room, Bismarck pushed big sister Alaska in front of the machine and used handcuffs to tie her wrists and ankles together.

"Where is the great Alaska now? Where has the mighty Alaska gone? Does Alaska still remember Bismarck's promise? Bismarck swore that the slap Alaska gave Bismarck long ago would be returned tenfold!"

After finishing her little speech, Bismarck raised her hand and gave big sister Alaska a hard slap!

"That was for the slap Alaska gave Bismarck! That day, Bismarck defeated Goeben and Lexington easily, but was unable to land a hit on Alaska. Today, the opportunity has finally arrived for Bismarck to finish off what Bismarck couldn't do back then!"

Big sister Alaska's wrists were handcuffed behind her back, so there was no way for her to retaliate. Bismarck clenched her fist tightly. She pulled her arm back. Without warning, she shifted her body weight forward and buried her fist deep into big sister Alaska's belly!

"And that was for the hit that Bismarck couldn't land on Alaska that day!"

I ran up to stop her, but big sister Alaska commanded me not to interfere. I could only stand there helplessly with my eyes shut as big sister Alaska's pained moans rang repeatedly through my ears with every single one of Bismarck's punches.

Bismarck only stopped after she had finished delivering ten more of her most savage punches to big sister Alaska's belly.

"Does Alaska have any last words?"

Big sister Alaska turned her head to gaze at me. In spite of all the bruises on her face and belly, she was still able to smile at me affectionately.

"Airi, don't feel sad. I would much rather be fed to you and let you become stronger than for me to be dismantled into some measly resources. Remember me when you reach the peak one day! In my heart, you will always be the great flagship of the DREAM TEAM! Please, take good care of our team-mates on my behalf!"

I never had the chance to reply because Bismarck chose that moment to press a button, causing big sister Alaska to be swallowed whole by the machine!

The words that never left my mouth all transformed into an "AHHHHHHHHH!" scream as I collapsed to the floor in tears.

Bismarck went to the back of the machine and picked up a large tray that she placed on the floor before me.

"Eat up."

On the tray was an entire pile of construction materials. Fuel, ammunition, steel, and bauxite – all four were there. Many portions of the construction materials were pink in colour. I took one look at the tray and threw up on the floor next to me.

"Didn't you use to eat a lot of ships while you were a member of the DREAM TEAM? What with the fabled "Takao hell", I bet you must have eaten at least 10 entire families, haven't you? Why aren't you eating any more now?

I looked up at Bismarck, my expression crestfallen. I shook my head.

"That's the one! That's the weak face that Bismarck absolutely detests! Andrea-Doria is not to show that that pathetic expression in front of Bismarck ever again! Eat! Bismarck is commanding Andrea-Doria to eat it all up!"

Thinking back to that incident, I have no recollection as to how I managed to get through that terrible torture. All I remember is that, after swallowing the remains of my beloved big sister Alaska, I immediately vomited some of the partially digested food in my stomach onto Bismarck's military dress, allowing her to give me a good beating after that.

After big sister Alaska's departure, the morale of the other members of the original DREAM TEAM declined sharply. Ever the opportunist, Bismarck used our diminished battle performance as leverage to oust my team-mates one by one.

Lexi-nee is afraid of being operated on and does not want to be remodelled? No worries, dismantle her and construct a new Lexington – one that is willing to be remodelled.

Big sister Goeben, who was the closest to Lexi-nee, became too devastated to battle after losing her best friend? Remove her from the fleet then, and invite Bismarck's sister Tirpitz to join.

As a shipgirl, Goeben-nee is the rarest of the rare, and the Admiral originally could not bear to dismantle her. When the first fleet came back from a sortie one day, however, we noticed that Goeben-nee was missing. All we found was a tray behind the dismantle machine, containing a pile of construction materials with some orange parts mixed in it.

Goeben-nee had committed Sudoku by dismantling herself.

I will never be able to feel her kind and loving embrace ever again. Had I known that things would end up this way, I would never have rejected her every time she showed concern for me, but it is all too little too late now.

Nevada's position was eventually given to the newly constructed Rodney. Fortunately, Bismarck toned down her aggression after getting her revenge against big sister Alaska, and was no longer as determined about going after my team-mates. This allowed me to successfully persuade the Admiral to keep Nevada in the port to accompany Oklahoma.

Out of the original six members of my beloved DREAM TEAM, I am now the only one left who is still in the Admiral's first fleet.

So here we are now, still facing the gigantic D. YAMATO. The new fleet consists of Bismarck, Tirpitz, Hood, Rodney, Lexington-kai, and me in position two. The Admiral is going full steam ahead with construction, and once Nelson comes in, it will be my turn to be removed from the fleet. When that happens, the new NIGHTMARE TEAM will be complete.

We are already in the night battle phase. Have I really spent that much time reminiscing about my DREAM TEAM? I guess it's not surprising, considering how much the Nevada sisters and I miss our three beloved big sisters. The battle is looking very bleak. As position two, I have already sustained medium damage, while the rest of the fleet has already taken heavy damage and will not be able to fire anymore. All six members of the opposing fleet are still at full health, having not taken a single hit. I understand what I need to do now.

I need to sink D. YAMATO with my one shot in this night battle.

Admiral, I hope my last contribution will reach you. There is one secret that will always remain in my heart, which is that all of the members of the original DREAM TEAM, all of us truly love you. Yes, even me. The one I love, is your original self. I regret not telling you about my feelings back then, and I guess it is too late for that now. What made you change so much so quickly? Did the event make you go crazy?

I raise all four of my cannons at different parts of D. YAMATO, but my aim is inaccurate because of the damage I have sustained. I cannot even hold my cannons in a steady position anymore.

Please, just this once! For once, let me have the strength to complete my last contribution for the admiral!

Suddenly, I feel a spiritual presence embracing me from behind. These willowy arms around my bare waist… Goeben nee-chan?!

I feel another vivacious presence approaching me from the left and taking hold of my two portside cannons, stabilising them. This is definitely big sister Alaska. Another presence, a gentle one this time, approached me from the right and helped me aim my starboard cannons. This is Lexi-nee for sure.

With the spirits of my three big sisters supporting me, I know Iwe will not fail.

I assess the waves.

I calibrate my aim.

I control my breathing.

One… two… three!

"FIRE!" all four of us scream as I launch my attack. Everyone else can only hear my voice, but not the voices of my sisters' spirits.

The attack landed a critical hit on all four of D. YAMATO's limbs, each cannon striking her like an arrow to the knee. D. YAMATO immediately sank beneath the surface of the water.

WE HAVE SUCCEEDED! Our port has completed the event!

The other five members of the fleet rose in a united cheer. I, however, am fearlessly rushing full steam ahead towards the enemy fleet, ignoring everyone else's warnings.

The battle is still not over even though I had sunk D. YAMATO. The other five ships of the enemy fleet have all their guns pointed at me, locked and loaded, hoping to avenge their leader.

Number two's artillery shell scraped me.

Number three's cannon left me heavily damaged.

Number four missed completely.

Number five's torpedo hit me, but did no damage because of the protection mechanism.[1]

Number six fired her torpedo, and I can see that it will be a direct hit that is finally going to sink me.

Actually, the sinking mechanism is really not that simple. When a shipgirl sinks, her admiral must still haul her out of the water and take her back to port for repairs. However, I have already steered too far forward. The Admiral will never be able to find me after I sink.

Lexi-nee, Goeben-nee, big sister Alaska, I will finally be able to meet you once again!

Admiral, thank you for taking care of me all this while. I hope you will be able to construct Nelson soon to replace me, and I hope that your new fleet will be bring you the same joy as the originally DREAM TEAM did. Having stood by your side all this while, my biggest regret is the fact that I am simply not strong enough, causing my entire team to be dismantled, used as modernisation, or replaced from the fleet.

Bismarck is right, this is not Pokemon. Even if you were to train me to level 100, I will still not be able to shed the "rubbish" moniker. Weak shipgirls like me are nothing more than a basket of deplorables. I remember how when I first met you, I rudely told you not to hold me back. I now understand how wrong I was, because it turns out that I'm the one who has been holding you back all this while. You are not a salted fish. It is my fault that you had to find a stronger ship to replace me, and I will not hold it against you.

" _Sleeping on this wide double bed before dawn  
_ _I sometimes end up dreaming alone  
_ _Dreaming about finding the you that is in my memories  
_ _I carry the burden of the numerous mistakes I have made in life  
_ _Such as holding your hand  
_ _Or deciding to silently remain by your side like this  
_ _I will repay you by suffering this lonely pain alone  
_ _So let me quietly remain beside the you that remains in my memories_ "

Number six's torpedo is approaching me with alarming speed. I close my eyes, awaiting my inevitable fate.

Admiral… farewell.

Admiral… I love you.

* * *

[1]: Before the affection system was released, the protection mechanism protected a ship from sinking once. This is similar to Javelin's special skill.


End file.
